Cobh - Best of Ireland

Join us for an excursion to an Irish Heritage Town dating from 1177, and visit the infamous Blarney Castle, one of the oldest and most intact medieval fortresses in Ireland.

Last edited 22.01.2016

Explore the port of Kinsale

Kiss the Blarney Stone and get the 'gift of eloquence'

Visit the Medieval fortress of Blarney Castle

Season

Spring

Notices

Blarney Castle has narrow, steep staircases. Those whishing to kiss the Blarney Stone must not suffer from vertigo and must be prepared to wait in line.

Difficulty level

Level 2: Easy

Duration

8 hours

174 €

From Cobh to Kinsale

From the pier at Cobh, you travel round Cork Harbour and the outskirts of the city of Cork, through rolling farmland to the port of Kinsale, with its pretty harbour and impressive forts. Pause briefly at the well-preserved Summercove and Charles Fort, a well-preserved garrison used by the British Army right up to 1922.

Enjoy some free time in Kinsale, an Irish Heritage Town dating from 1177. Built around the broad harbour, the town has been an important port since the 15th century and as such has a rich maritime past.

Will you kiss the Blarney Stone?

From Kinsale you continue to the enchanting village of Blarney, the location of the Blarney Woollen Mills and several ships and pubs located around a green village, where you have some free time to enjoy lunch. Afterwards you visit Blarney Castle, one of the oldest and most intact medieval fortresses in Ireland. It is, of course, also the home of the famous Blarney Stone, which traditionally imparts the ‘gift of eloquence’ to anyone who kisses it.

For those that do not want to kiss the stone, there will be time to see the Rock Close in the Castle grounds - a 19th century folly - and the gardens, which by legend are of Druid origin and were a centre of worship in pre-Christian times. The village of Blarney is also just a short walk away.